Since multiple members form one group, rumors of discord or bullying could suddenly arise around idols, sometimes fading quickly, sometimes leaving deep scars.
The Dawn was no exception.
[Title: Seo Hoyun really doesn’t read the room at all
Is he ignoring it, or is he really clueless.. haha
It’s obvious Kang Ichae wants to snap at him but holds back every time.. This damn agency won’t even bother to clarify anything..
└They used to do a lot of lives together, but this promotion they seem to be avoiding being left alone.
└└So something is going on.
└Why the fuck would the agency clarify shit between members; let them handle it themselves;;
└└Chill dude haha]
Just as the rumor of discord between Seo Hoyun and Kang Ichae was snowballing, Lee Jihyun was busily preparing for The Dawn’s new self-produced content.
They had promised to make it look as pretty as possible to calm things down—hopefully it would work out.
‘I believe in you, please... my five-star Knight of Roses, bonus...’
She forcefully soothed her anxiety and rushed the staff.
The first scene started at the fan-shaped pavilion that had appeared in the Lotus Lantern Festival music video.
“Deongeuduck!”
There, with his eyes gently closed, Jung Dajun beat the janggu drum with the gunggeul stick.
“Deon! Giduck kung the-de-de Deon kung! Giduck kung the-de-de Deon... Eheey~!! The players enter!!”
In time with the rhythm, the members stepped in with gentle, swaying steps.
Sung Jiwon entered first, neatly dressed in a coral-tinged pink hanbok. Behind him came Kim Sunghyun in a bluish-gray silk robe, then Kang Ichae in a dark-brown robe woven with golden threads, and finally Seo Hoyun wrapped in indigo silk the color of the night sky.
“Deon giduck kung... Seo Hoyun ent—!”
“Jung Dajun. Too loud.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll put it away right now.”
Even a dog at the village school learns poems after three years.
The maknae of The Dawn had learned quickly when he could play around and when he couldn’t. He hurriedly put away the janggu.
Seo Hoyun tapped his own shoulder with the gunggeul stick he had snatched from him.
Meanwhile, Kim Sunghyun stepped forward and bowed politely.
“We, The Dawn, have returned with our new album Wish. At least pretend to cheer. Yes, thank you for your half-hearted responses. I, your leader Sunghyun, will briefly introduce the game we will be playing in today’s content!”
The screen went black, and rules scrolled across it.
1. Through yutnori, the winning member becomes the King, and the rest are ranked in order with titles. The King receives a royal table, while the others get food according to rank, with the last-place servant receiving only plain rice.
2. The King may order the lower ranks around freely for the entire day.
3. The commoners may rise in “rebellion” at any time.
-A “rebellion” is when the lower ranks challenge the King. It is one-on-one, and the goal is to provoke the opponent until they either give up or get too riled up to continue the historical drama-style speech.
Whoever cannot continue the conversation loses.
If successful, the rebel immediately becomes King regardless of rank, while the dethroned King falls to the rebel’s rank. A dethroned King can never reclaim the throne through rebellion.
Hearing this, Kang Ichae whined.
“Ehh~, I’m no good at sageuk speech.”
“Then, if you use English or foreign words, you will receive a warning. If you repeat it despite warnings, then...”
“Famous sageuk line!!”
Jung Dajun, eyes shining, raised his hand and shouted.
“If you recite a famous sageuk line, you’ll get one free pass with no penalty.”
Thus, a fourth rule was suddenly added.
4. During “rebellion,” if someone breaks a rule, the first time is a warning. The second time, reciting a famous sageuk line will allow them to get away without penalty—only once.
Kang Ichae didn’t seem to care much about this addition caused by him, but Jung Dajun was delighted, borrowing a sketchbook from staff and scribbling down lines from his favorite sageuk dramas.
“Then let’s begin.”
Once the rules were settled, the game started.
Seo Hoyun tapped different parts of his body with the gunggeul stick as he slowly approached the members.
“Uwaagh!!”
And moments later, he devoured the whole yutnori board on his own.
“What the—what?!”
“Wait, Hoyun, weren’t you just over there?”
“You bastard, what trick did you pull?!”
“Haha.”
‘Wow, Seo Hoyun. Unreal.’
He always dominated brain games, so it wasn’t unexpected. But since yutnori required luck, and Lee Jihyun had seen enough of his hopelessly clumsy hands, she had expected at least some struggle.
But his mental agility and strategy overwhelmed everything.
“Seo Hoyun-ssi, insane.”
The staff were astonished as he overturned the board again and again, and naturally, the victory went to him.
“Was this not inevitable?”
He raised the yut and blew a kiss to the camera.
Only Seo Hoyun’s royal meal was set on the pavilion, while the others’ meals were placed on steps or the ground according to rank.
Fifth-place Jung Dajun sniffled, staring at his mountain of rice with nothing else. Puffing his cheeks, he scooped up a big spoonful, but Seo Hoyun, calmly eating with his chopsticks, called out.
“You there at the far end, come here.”
“Your Majestyyy!!!”
Seo Hoyun slid over braised short ribs so tender they crumbled under a touch of chopsticks. Dajun bowed endlessly and gobbled them up. Kim Sunghyun, annoyed at the sight, chewed his spinach with a sour face.
“Who wants to cut off the King’s head?”
Seo Hoyun lazily dug in his ear and replied.
“Indeed, perhaps this king should spare the pitiful commoners who cannot even eat properly. Go ahead, chatter away.”
Everyone looked ready to explode.
Even Jung Dajun, though he’d just been gifted short ribs.
“Let’s rebel!”
“Let’s go!”
Kim Sunghyun and Kang Ichae shot up angrily, but Sung Jiwon beat them to it.
“Your Majesty! I declare rebellion!”
“Hm?”
He quickly stepped into the pavilion and sat.
“As explained, the rebellion is simple. Provoke the opponent. Whoever gives up first, or cannot continue sageuk speech due to anger, loses.”
“Yes! Challenge!!”
With rebellion reintroduced, Sung Jiwon turned to Seo Hoyun.
“Your Majesty, I sincerely think you are a wonderful person... ah, I mean, I think so. Handsome, caring, attentive, always kind and gentle...”
“Jiwon-hyung, that’s pure flattery. Straight-up sycophant.”
“He won’t learn unless he gets kicked out. That’s not even provoking.”
The dancer line whispered, but audibly. Ignoring them, Sung Jiwon went on for minutes, praising from head to toe until his cheeks reddened.
“Haha, I’ll stop here.”
How thick are those rose-colored glasses?
Lee Jihyun and the staff stared at him in worry.
Seo Hoyun tilted his upper body slightly and asked.
“Thank you. Is it my turn now?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm, I like that you didn’t remove the mole on your nose. It suits you well.”
‘Ruthless, really!’
They knew it was an act for the camera, but it was always impossible to get used to Seo Hoyun’s methods.
“Eh?? Ah... r-really, Your Majesty?”
Unlike them, Sung Jiwon blushed and smiled happily.
“Why does he live like this?”
“My point exactly.”
The other members frowned, rubbing their stomachs or pretending to gag, but Seo Hoyun paid no mind.
“Indeed, Your Majesty is a wise ruler. This subject will now step down.”
Just as Kim Sunghyun was about to ask staff for help, Sung Jiwon voluntarily gave up and left the pavilion. Though he didn’t win or earn food, he looked satisfied.
Seo Hoyun’s gaze shifted from Jiwon, past Sunghyun, and landed on Kang Ichae.
Then—
“Your Majesty.”
Dusting off his robes, Kang Ichae stood.
Jung Dajun dropped his spoon. Kim Sunghyun gulped.
“Shall we have a merry round together?”
“...Very well.”
Here it came.
Lee Jihyun swallowed hard.
This was the moment to build a gentle mood.
She fired desperate, pleading eyes at Seo Hoyun.
“You compose well. You earn good money. Your charm is outstanding. I’ve always thought highly of you.”
Thankfully, it started smooth.
“If you continue to stand beside me as a reliable younger brother, I would be very grateful.”
Seo Hoyun smiled warmly as he listed Ichae’s strengths.
But then—
“Your Majestyyy—”
The moment Lee Jihyun saw Kang Ichae’s lips twist, she knew this wasn’t going to end smoothly.
“—So venomous, aren’t you? From clumsy fool to dancer now. Truly remarkable.”
“...Doesn’t sound like praise to me.”
“And that low, rough voice of yours is so unique, yet every word you speak bristles like horns. Truly remarkable.”
“Treason against the King! Off with his head!”
Having gotten a few bites of meat, loyal subject Jung Dajun pounced at Kang Ichae. Seo Hoyun’s brow twitched, clearly displeased with Ichae’s attitude.
“...And yet you have a knack for reading the room, acting without a word needing to be said.”
“And Your Majesty, with your lightning-fast perception, pretending not to notice is a talent worthy of a true actor, is it not?”
“Actor...”
He managed to control his expression for now.
“Hoo, you...”
Letting out a marrow-deep sigh, Seo Hoyun forced a smile as he looked at Kang Ichae, chin cocked defiantly.
“What a delightful joke.”
“Your Majesty, to hear it as a joke shows how carefree you are. Truly Hoyuhou-like.”
In an instant, the atmosphere warped.
Lee Jihyun didn’t know why exactly, but from here on, it was a battlefield without bullets.
“So you want to see this through to the end?!”
“Of course! How else should I respond when Your Majesty provokes me? Why pretend to accept everything with such a tiny saucer of generosity?!”
“My heart is as vast as the sea! Do you not know the saying, ‘What you see is all you see’?”
Lee Jihyun was horrified.
She seriously considered cutting the cameras and stopping the shoot.
“Your Majesty is such a frustrating conversational partner, you should gulp down some SolOnun to clear your chest!”
“Then you can keep eating 2PrX mixed with soup! Always short by 2%!”
“I may be 2% short, but Your Majesty is 98% lacking!!”
While those two tore into each other, the other members quietly kept eating, eyes darting.
“What even is going on? Isn’t percentage English?”
“They both get one warning~. Next time, it has to be a famous line.”
“They’re nowhere near giving up. Still keeping up the speech style.”
As Jung Dajun sneakily reached for side dishes Hoyun hadn’t passed down, Kim Sunghyun and Sung Jiwon joined in.
At that moment—
“Damn it, ha.”
Hands raised in frustration, Kang Ichae clenched and unclenched his fists, sighing heavily.
“Your Majesty, I already know I’m handsome and good at composing. I don’t need to hear it.”
“......”
“That’s not what I wanted to hear.”
His voice was calm, but faint grinding of teeth slipped through the audio.
“Um...”
He stared straight at Lee Jihyun—his signal to cut it.
“Hey, stop.”
She was about to raise her hand when a chilling voice cut in.
Seo Hoyun’s cold gaze fixed on Kang Ichae.
Then—
“Uh, Your Majesty, you just used English.”
Sneaking closer on his knees, Jung Dajun poked Hoyun’s elbow.
“So what.”
“Y-you must recite a famous line to pass this one!!”
Even stammering at Hoyun’s icy look, Dajun still clung to his role, blurting out the part he’d been waiting for.
Seo Hoyun ran his hand roughly through his neat hair, exasperated.
“Kang Ichae!”
“F-famous line...!”
“Ah, fuck.”
Even Lee Jihyun could tell he was planning to fix this in editing.
He ignored Dajun’s nonsense and started to stand. But the maknae, straining, refused to back down and shoved the sketchbook at him.
“...Ha, seriously...”
Pages flipped rapidly, scattering lines everywhere.
Seo Hoyun swept his bangs back, exhaling sharply. Deciding it was faster to play along, he snatched the sketchbook.
And read the very first line that appeared.
“I never commanded you to stay away!!1)”
—Away!!
—...way...
...way...
...way...
...way....
The echo circled the pavilion and faded.
Only Seo Hoyun, oblivious to the rapidly freezing air, sprang to his feet.
“Kang Ichae, then how the hell am I supposed to—!”
He growled, veins straining in his neck, but suddenly stopped. Slowly, he turned his head.
“Khhrk...”
Every staff member was biting their lips, shoulders shaking as they tried not to burst out laughing.
“...I just...”
Congratulations, you earned yourself a black-mark moment.
“Shi—”
The first syllable of a °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° curse slipped out, but Seo Hoyun barely held on, his mouth opening soundlessly.
“P-please, cut that in editing. Please.”
Face burning red, he rubbed his face, but there was no way this golden footage was going to waste.
Kim Sunghyun, laughing loudly, slung an arm around him.
“Your Majesty, this clip is already an editing gem.”
“Hey! No! I don’t want it!”
“Please grant mercy!!”
Already glued to Kang Ichae’s side, popping rice crackers into his mouth, Jung Dajun muttered:
“I tried to forget you, but I could not forget...2)”
“......”
Even Kang Ichae cracked a laugh, shaking his head.
‘Damn it...’
Before anyone realized, the members had slipped back into their usual Dawn dynamic, the scene warm again.
Checking captions and the rough edit outline, Lee Jihyun smiled a brittle smile with her eyes shut.
‘No way I can upload this raw...’
Showing them baring fangs like this would only fuel the discord rumors.
“Lee Jihyun-ssi, please, cut that line...”
Seo Hoyun’s sharp voice rang out.
She shook her head firmly.
Even if she trimmed everything else, that one infamous line of Seo Hoyun’s was definitely going up.
